Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 210 367 1000;
www.benaki.gr
; Koumbari 1, cnr Leoforos Vasilissis Sofias, Kolonaki; adult/con-
cession €7/5, free Thu; 9am-5pm Wed & Fri, to midnight Thu & Sat, to 3pm Sun; Syntagma,
Evangelismos)
Greece's finest private museum contains the vast collection of Antonis
Benakis, accumulated during 35 years of avid collecting in Europe and Asia. The collec-
tion includes Bronze Age finds from Mycenae and Thessaly; works by El Greco; ecclesi-
astical furniture brought from Asia Minor; pottery, copper, silver and woodwork from
Egypt, Asia Minor and Mesopotamia; and a stunning collection of Greek regional cos-
tumes.
The museum has expanded into several branches to house its vast and diverse collec-
tions and is a major player in the city's arts scene. It hosts a full schedule of rotating ex-
hibitions.
www.benaki.gr
;
Pireos 138, cnr Andronikou, Rouf; admission €4-6; 10am-6pm Thu & Sun, to
10pm Fri & Sat, closed Aug; Keramikos)
hosts regular visual arts, cultural and historical ex-
hibitions as well as major international shows. The impressive former industrial building
has a cafe and excellent gift shop.
Museum of Cycladic Art
MUSEUM
( 210 722 8321;
www.cycladic.gr
; Neofytou Douka 4, cnr Leoforos Vasilissis Sofias, Kolonaki;
adult/child €7/free, half-price Mon; 10am-5pm Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat, 10am-8pm Thu, 11am-5pm
Sun; Evangelismos)
This exceptional private museum boasts the largest independent
collection of distinctive Cycladic art and holds excellent periodic exhibitions. The 1st-
floor Cycladic collection, dating from 3000 BC to 2000 BC, includes the marble figur-
ines that inspired many 20th-century artists, such as Picasso and Modigliani, with their
simplicity and purity of form. The rest of the museum features Greek and Cypriot art dat-
ing from 2000 BC to the 4th century AD.
The 4th-floor exhibition, Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity, includes artefacts and
films depicting life in Ancient Greece.
Byzantine & Christian Museum
MUSEUM
( 210 721 1027;
www.byzantinemuseum.gr
; Leoforos Vasilissis Sofias 22, Kolonaki; adult/conces-
sion/child €4/2/free; 9am-6pm Tue-Sun, reduced hr low season; Evangelismos)
This out-
standing museum - on the grounds of former Villa Ilissia, an urban oasis - presents a
